FAMILY BLESSINGS

In Anoka, Minnesota, 45-year-old Lee Reston is once again in tears. Widowed nine years earlier, she's now lost her 25-year-old son in a tragic motorcycle accident. His fellow police officer, 30-year-old Christopher Lallek, steps in to console the grieving family. Stirred by Lee's warmth, missing in his own family, Christopher falls for her and finds a willing lover. But it seems marriage is out of the question. Daughter Janice has a crush on the handsome cop, and the extended family doesn't believe the winter-spring romance will last. Barbara Rush's quavering voice makes middle-aged Lee into an octogenarian; furthermore, she never seems to fully enter into any role. However, her vocal differentiation is satisfactory enough that, despite her lackluster reading, listeners will find themselves drawn into the story. E.V. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 03]